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constitutional lawyer, having, as Attorney-General, succeeded in upholding before the English Court of Appeal a celebrated case in which the Government of Victoria was interested. It was extremely fitting, therefore, that the opening of this subject should fall into his hands. The point of the motion turned on the right of the Australasian Colonies to make differential treaties with other colonies outside Australian waters. The original Constitution Acts only gave authority to levy Customs duties, and specially provided that there should be no differential rates. The law stood in this position for a considerable time, but in 1873, at the request of some of the colonies, the Imperial Government passed a Bill granting power to the Australian Colonies to make differential treaties as between themselves. This did not confer rights to make treaties with any other British possessions, and therefore, to enable these colonies to make a Customs union with Canada, or with any other colony outside Australasia, it became necessary to first obtain an extension of the above-mentioned Act. The motion was seconded by the Hon. Mr. Suttor, representing New South Wales, and a long debate ensued, eventually resulting in the motion being carried unanimously. It did not appear to the writer that this question demanded very lengthy consideration. It seemed to him clear that, in the first place, without such powers being granted as the motion asked for, no arrangement with Canada could be made; and, secondly, that, as it was naturally to be assumed that no objection would ever be offered to the extension of the limitation above described, the motion might as well have been passed at once. If the principle of allowing a group of colonies to make special and exclusive terms be admitted, there does not appear to be any valid reason why increased distance should be a barrier against its wider application, where Imperial relations are the same. Although the discussion was of value in that it brought out some interesting information as to the negotiations and other particulars connected with the arrangements made between the Cape of Good Hope and the Orange Free State and between Canada and the United States and France, the time spent was perhaps not altogether necessary for proving the desirability of passing the motion. THE PACIFIC CABLE. This question formed the subject of the next motion, which had been given notice of by the Hon. William Suttor, the New South Wales representative. It read: "That, in the opinion of this Conference, immediate steps should be taken to provide telegraph communication by cable, under sole British control, between the Dominion of Canada and Australasia." The desirability of having such a line has long been recognised. It first took definite shape as a subject of Imperial importance at the Conference of 1887. The connection then just completed between Vancouver and Eastern Canada, by means of the Canadian Pacific Eailway, attracted attention to the advantages which that route offered for effecting quick communication through entirely British territory between Britain and Australasia. The idea then found expression in a resolution which asserted that " A direct line of cable across the Pacific is a project of high importance to the Empire, and that any doubt as to its practicability should be set at rest by a survey;" but it apparently did not meet with very favourable consideration. The Secretary of the Admiralty sent a reply, which, stated briefly, was to the effect that unless there was reason to believe that a submarine cable was likely to be laid shortly, it was not proposed to send any vessels purposely to survey; but that opportunity would be taken to take soundings within the next few years in the ordinary course of hydrographic surveys. On the Bth March, 1888, a resolution, passed at the Postal Conference held in Sydney at that time, was forwarded to the Colonial Office, asking that an early survey might be made at the joint cost of Her Majesty's Government, the Government of Canada, and the Australasian Colonies. Again, however, a reply was sent by the Admiralty to the effect that unless some definite progress was going to be made, and a probability existed of the work being carried out within a reasonable time, they did not see that they were justified in immediately carrying on the survey at considerable cost. From the foregoing it would appear that the British Government did not think the matter of much urgency; and, further, that it expected some sufficiently-advanced scheme of construction should precede any survey. The writer lays some little stress on these points, because they furnish an explanation of the attitude he took in respect of the further prosecution of the matter. THE IMPEEIAL AND COMMEECIAL ASPECT OF THE QUESTION. The fact that the British Government had been asked to make a survey, and that a resolution passed at the Wellington Conference in 1894, requesting that it should join in a guarantee to be given by Canada and the colonies towards the cable's construction, implies that some Imperial advantages would accrue therefrom. This aspect of the matter requires some examination. On what grounds could English taxpayers be committed to a liability on an undertaking that would come into opposition with private enterprise ? The answer to this must supply some reasonable arguments that the step is justified by national considerations. British interests in the Pacific are continually assuming larger dimensions. In the not distant future, they will probably be of more importance than those in any other of her possessions. From a commercial point of view,- Australasian trade with England is almost co-equal with that of India, and will, judging from the last few years' increase, shortly exceed it. The trade of these colonies with the United Kingdom is larger than that of any other country—the United States, France, and India excepted. The Pacific Colonies are the woolfields of the world, and, as Great Britain draws the greater portion of her outside supply of that article therefrom, it is of supreme importance that her communication with them shall be reliable in case of war dangers. If the present military situation of Europe continue, it must certainly be that, as time goes on, an increased naval force will be required in Australasian waters. The necessity of being in possession of immediate and reliable control over the disposition of that force must be an evident proposition. Do the present lines of communi-